2 Kings 7 — Church Fathers

Douay-Rheims

1 Kings

Chapter 6

Chapter 8

3 Kings

Chapter 7

2 Kings 7:1-11

DAVID DESIRES TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR THE LORD

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1 And it came to pass when the king sat in his house, and our Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,

2 he said to Nathan the Prophet: Dost thou see that I dwell in a house of cedar, & the ark of God is set in the midst of skins?

3 And Nathan said to the king: All that is in thy heart, go do, because our Lord is with thee. 1 note

4 And it came to pass in that night: and behold the word of our Lord to Nathan, saying:

5 Go, and speak to my servant David: Thus saith our Lord: Shalt thou build me a house to dwell in? 1 note

6 For neither have I dwelt in house from the day that I brought the children of Israel out of the Land of Ægypt, until this day: but I walked in tabernacle, and in tent.

7 Throughout all the places, that I have passed with all the children of Israel, speaking did I speak to one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying: why did you not build me a house of cedar?

8 And now these things shalt thou say to my servant David: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I took thee out of the pastures following the flocks, that thou shouldest be Prince over my people Israel:

9 and I have been with thee wheresoever thou hast walked, and have slain all thine enemies from thy face: and have made thee a great name, according to the name of the great ones, that are in the earth.

10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant it, and they shall dwell under it, and shall be troubled no more: neither shall the children of iniquity add to afflict them as before.

11 From the day that I appointed Judges over my people Israel: and I will give thee rest from all thine enemies. And our Lord foretelleth thee, that our Lord will make thee a house.

2 Kings 7:12-17

THE LORD’S PROMISE TO DAVID’S OFFSPRING

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12 And when thy days shall be accomplished, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall come forth of thy womb, and I will establish his Kingdom. 2 notes

13 He shall build a house to my name, and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom for ever. 2 notes

14 I will be to him for a father, and he shall be to me for a son: who if he shall do any thing unjustly, I will rebuke him in the rod of men, and in the plagues of the sons of men. 2 notes

15 But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took from Saul, whom I removed from thy face. 2 notes

16 And thy house shall be faithful, and thy Kingdom for ever before thy face, and thy throne shall be firm continually. 2 notes

17 According to all these words, & according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. 2 notes

2 Kings 7:18-29

DAVID PRAYS TO THE LORD

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18 And David went in, & sat before our Lord, & said: Who am I, o Lord God, & what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? 1 note

19 But this also hath seemed little in thy sight, o Lord God, unless thou didst speak also of the house of thy servant for a long time: for this is the law of Adam, Lord God. 1 note

20 What can David therefore add yet, to speak unto thee? For thou knowest thy servant, o Lord God. 1 note

21 For thy word, and according to thy heart thou hast done all these great things, so that thou wouldest notify it to thy servant. 1 note

22 Therefore art thou magnified, o Lord God, because there is none like to thee, neither is there a God besides thee, in all things that we have heard with our ears. 1 note

23 And what nation is there in the earth as thy people Israel, for the which God hath gone, that he might redeem it to be his people, & might make himself a name, & do for them great wonders, and horrible things upon the earth, before the face of thy people, whom thou redeemedst to thyself out of Ægypt, from the nations & from their gods. 1 note

24 For thou hast confirmed the people Israel to be an everlasting people: and thou Lord God art become their God. 1 note

25 Now therefore, o Lord God, raise up for ever the word, that thou hast spoken upon thy servant & upon his house, & do as thou hast spoken, 1 note

26 that thy name may be magnified for ever, and it may be said: The Lord of hosts is God over Israel. And the house of thy servant David shall be established before our Lord, 1 note

27 because thou, o Lord of hosts God of Israel, hast revealed the ear of thy servant, saying: A house I build thee: therefore hath thy servant found his heart to pray thee with this prayer. 1 note

28 Now therefore, o Lord God, thou art God, & thy words shall be true: for thou hast spoken to thy servant these good things. 1 note

29 Begin therefore, & bless the house of thy servant, that it may be for ever before thee: because thou Lord God hast spoken, by thy blessing shall the house of thy servant be blessed for ever. 1 note

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2 Kings 7:1-11 2 entries

DAVID DESIRES TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR THE LORD

GOD THE SPIRIT MOVES WHERE HE PLEASES.

Pope St. Gregory I (c. 540–604) verse 3

The spirit of prophecy does not enlighten the minds of the prophets constantly, Peter.^[1] We read in sacred Scripture that the Holy Spirit breathes where he pleases,^[2] and we should also realize that he breathes when he pleases. For example, when King David asked whether he could build a temple, the prophet Nathan gave his consent but later had to withdraw it.

Dialogue 2.21

CHRIST THE TEMPLE OF GOD.

St. Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200–258) verse 5

That Christ should be the house and temple of God, and that the old temple should cease, and the new one should begin. In the second book of Kings [Samuel]: And the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ‘Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord, You shall not build me a house to dwell in; but it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you, which shall come from your body, and I will prepare his kingdom. He shall build me a house in my name, and I will raise up his throne forever; and I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me, and his house shall obtain faith, and his kingdom [will be] forever in my sight.’ ^[1] Also in the Gospel the Lord says, There shall not be left in the temple one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.^[2] And After three days another shall be raised up without hands.^[3] TO QUIRINUS:

Testimonies against the Jews 1.15

2 Kings 7:12-17 2 entries

THE LORD’S PROMISE TO DAVID’S OFFSPRING

CHRIST’S KINGDOM IS PROMISED.

Tertullian (c. 155–c. 240)

That new dispensation, then, which is found in Christ now, will prove to be what the Creator then promised under the appellation of the sure mercies of David,^[1] which were Christ’s, inasmuch as Christ sprang from David, or rather his very flesh itself was David’s sure mercies, consecrated by religion, and sure after its resurrection. Accordingly the prophet Nathan, in the first [book] of Kings [Samuel], makes a promise to David for his seed, which shall proceed, he says, from your own body. Now, if you explain this simply of Solomon, you will send me into a fit of laughter. For David will evidently have brought forth Solomon! But is not Christ here designated the seed of David, as of that womb which was derived from David, that is, Mary’s? Now, because Christ rather than any other was to build the temple of God, that is to say, a holy manhood, wherein God’s Spirit might dwell as in a better temple, Christ rather than David’s son Solomon was to be looked for as the Son of God. Then, again, the throne forever with the kingdom forever is more suited to Christ than to Solomon, a mere temporal king.

Against Marcion 3.20

THE SON OF GOD.

St. Aphrahat (c. 270-350; fl. 337-345)

Again, listen concerning the title Son of God, by which we have called him. They [the Jews] say that though God has no son, you make that crucified Jesus, the firstborn son of God. Yet he called Israel my firstborn when he sent to Pharaoh through Moses and said to him, Israel is my firstborn; I have said to you, let my son go to serve me, and if you are not willing to let (him) go, lo! I will slay your son, your firstborn.^[1] And also through the prophet he testified concerning this and reproved them and said to the people, Out of Egypt have I called my son. As I called them, so they went and worshiped Baal and offered incense to the graven images.^[2] And Isaiah said concerning them, Children have I reared and brought up, and they have rebelled against me.^[3] And again it is written, You are the children of the Lord your God.^[4] And about Solomon he said, He shall be a son to me, and I will be a Father to him. So also we call the Christ the Son of God because through him we have gained the knowledge of God; even as he called Israel my firstborn son and as he said concerning Solomon, He shall be a son to me.

Demonstration 17.4

2 Kings 7:18-29 1 entry

DAVID PRAYS TO THE LORD

BUILDING THE HOUSE OF GOD.

St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430)

David, understanding this, says in the second book of Kings [Samuel] . . . You did also speak of the house of your servant for a long time to come. And, further on, And now begin and bless the house of your servant that it may endure forever, etc. At that time, David was about to beget his son through whom his lineage would be carried down to Christ; through whom, in turn, his house was to be everlasting—indeed, identified with the house of God. It was to be called the house of David because [it was] of David’s stock and, simultaneously, the house of God because it was a temple to God made not of stones but of people. In this house God’s people shall everlastingly dwell with their God and in their God, and God with his people and in his people, God filling his people, his people filled with their God, so that God may be all in all^[1]—the very same God being their prize in peace who was their strength in battle.

It was with this in view that, when Nathan had said, And the Lord said to you, that you shall build him a house, David said further on, Because you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to the ear of your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ This is a house which we build by living virtuously and which God builds by helping us to live virtuously, for unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.^[2]

Only, however, when this house receives its final consecration will the words God spoke by Nathan’s lips come true: And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein, and shall be disturbed no more: neither shall the children of iniquity afflict them any more as they did before, from the day that I appointed judges over my people Israel.

City of God 17.12